Cheonan City Sets Goal of 2 Million Resident Population by 2035, Aims to Improve Population Structure

Total Fertility Rate Targeted at 1.0
Aiming for 33% Youth Population Ratio

Chang Myunguk, Director of Planning and Coordination Office, is conducting a regular briefing at the City Hall briefing room on the 20th (Provided by Cheonan City)

Cheonan City in South Chungcheong Province announced on the 20th that it aims to improve its population structure, targeting a resident population of 2 million by 2035.

On this day, Director of Planning and Coordination Cha Myungkook stated at the city hall briefing room, "With this improvement in population structure, we aim to achieve a total fertility rate of 1.0 and a youth population ratio of 33%."

According to the city, the current population stands at 698,597 as of last month, with an increase of 1,053 people, putting the city on the verge of surpassing 700,000 residents.

The city plans to introduce, for the first time in the province, a population impact assessment system to analyze the effectiveness of low birthrate policies and to reassess resource allocation.

Additionally, the city will expand programs such as birth celebration grants, postpartum care support, full-care daycare centers, and all-day group care centers, while also expediting the completion of industrial complex development.

In particular, to enhance residential conditions, the city will implement youth employment support programs, strengthen the metropolitan transportation network, and add more public parking lots in Buldang and Dujeong-dong.

To boost the resident population, the city will also strengthen cultural tourism. Cheonan will add its unique touch to local signature festivals such as 'Bbangbbang Day', 'K-Culture Expo', and 'Heungtaryeong Dance Festival', and plans to finalize a comprehensive tourism development plan around the Independence Hall area as well as the construction of Taejosan Memorial Park.

Director Cha Myungkook said, "Thanks to the efforts and passionate enthusiasm of our citizens, we have achieved today's growth," and added, "We will do our utmost to successfully establish a sustainable population growth structure suitable for the era of 700,000 residents."

Meanwhile, according to Cheonan City's demographic status, since 2023, the city has entered a 'dead cross' phase, where the number of deaths has surpassed the number of births.

In fact, until 2022, the number of births (3,978) exceeded the number of deaths (3,667), but starting in 2023, the number of births dropped to 3,525 while deaths increased to 3,565, reversing the trend and initiating a natural population decline.

To address this, the city has implemented birth encouragement policies for public officials since last year and is preparing measures to expand these policies to the private sector.